The Making of new “Matches”
April 17, 2013
Early last week, 165 participants from more than 70 clusters in 16 countries gathered in Copenhagen for the BSR Innovation Express cluster-to-cluster conference. The event was dedicated to matching clusters (and SME networks) with each other, and supporting them in finding relevant funding for international activities. With 225 pre-scheduled “dates”, 5 workshops to develop project ideas addressing grand challenges, loads of ad hoc bilateral meetings and informal networking over the course of the event, many new matches were made in the BSR.
In connection with the BSR Innovation Express call supporting the internationalization of SMEs through clusters, NetMatch (supported by the Danish Agency for Science, Technology and Innovation) led the organization of a Cluster-to-Cluster Matchmaking and Funding Conference in Copenhagen, 9-10 April 2013. Building on B2B matchmaking tools used within the Enterprise Europe Network (EEN), this event was dedicated to matching clusters (or other business networks) with each other.
Through pre-scheduled meetings and informal networking opportunities, the event provided clusters in the BSR (and elsewhere) an opportunity to meet and gain knowledge about other clusters, find new cluster partners or develop existing international collaborations, and scout for relevant partners in development projects.
The event included the opportunity to book pre-scheduled meetings with potential collaboration partners. This is a picture taken during one of the six 30-minute sessions.
The event also offered “internationalization experiences” from leading cluster managers, insight on the new BSR Innovation Express call and other funding opportunities dedicated to clusters, thought-provoking speeches and proposals for collaboration to jointly address a number of the grand challenges that are part of Horizon 2020.
Initial feedback of the event points to the development of many new contacts and project ideas. Some of these project ideas will be formulated as applications to the BSR Innovation Express call (open until 31 May). BSR Innovation Express task force partners are looking forward to seeing the results from all the creative energy unleashed in Copenhagen last week.